Government and the media

Writing in 1741, the philosopher David Hume praised press freedom in Britain with the words: “Nothing is more apt to surprise a foreigner, than the extreme liberty which we enjoy in this country, of communicating whatever we please to the public, and of openly censuring every measure entered into by the king or his ministers”. Is such a boast still justified? The relationship between government and media is bound to be uneasy one in any democracy. Governments are concerned with maintaining their own authority. The media must watch the exercise of that authority, and criticize when they feel it is wrongly used. For over 50 years the government has had an arrangement for the protection of national security in the media. Its Defense, Press and Broadcasting Committee has agreed that in some circumstances the publication of certain information might endanger national security.

During the 1980s the government frequently tried to prevent discussion of sensitive issues. In 1989 the new Official Secrets Act greatly strengthened the government’s ability to prevent disclosure of sensitive information.    

 

 

LECTURE 10

Topic: THE MEDIA: PRESS, RADIO AND TELEVISION

List of questions:

1. Press

2. Radio

3. Television

4. Government and the media

 

Literature:

1.Нестеров Н.М. Страноведение: Великобритания. Ростов на Дону, «Феникс», 2006.

2. Михайлов Н.Н. Лингвострановедение Англии. М., «Академия», 2003.

3. Артемова А.Ф. Великобритания. Книга для чтения по страноведению. М, «АСТ: Восток-Запад», 2006.

45. M. Pugh A History of Britain. Oxford, 2001.

6. M. Vaughan-Rees In Britain. Lnd., 1999.

PUBLIC HOLYDAYS AND CELIBRATIONS

There are only six public holidays a year in Great Britain, which are days on which people need not go in to work. They are: Christmas Day, Boxing Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, Spring Bank Holiday and Late summer Bank Holiday. In Scotland, the New Year’s Day is also a public holiday. Most of these holidays are of religious origin, though it would be right to say that for the greater part of population they have long lost their religious significance and are simply days on which people relax, eat, drink and make merry. All the public holidays, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day observed on December 25^th and 26^th respectively, are moveable that is they do not fall on the same day each year. Good Day and Easter Monday depend on Easter Sunday, which falls on the first Sunday after a full moon on or after March 21^st. The Spring Bank Holiday falls on the last Monday of May in September, depending on which of the Mondays is near to June 1^st and September 1^st respectively.

Besides public holidays, there are other festivals, anniversaries and simply days, for example Pancake Day and Bonfire Night, on which certain traditions are observed, but unless they fall on a Sunday, they are ordinary working days.

 

NEW YEAR IN ENGLAND

In England the New Year is not as widely or as enthusiastically observed as Christmas. Some people ignored it completely and go to bed at the same time as usual on New Year’s Eve. Many others, however, do celebrate it in one way or another, the type of celebration varying very much according to local custom, family tradition and personal taste.

The most common type of celebration is a New Year party, either a family party or one arranged by a group of young people. This usually begins at about eight o’clock and goes on until the early hours of the morning. There is a lot of drinking, mainly beer, wine, gin and whisky; sometimes the hosts make a big bowl of punch which consists of wine, spirits, fruit juice and water in varying proportions. There is usually a buffet supper of cold meat, pies, sandwiches, savouries, cakes and biscuits. At midnight the wireless or TV set is turned on, so that everyone can hear the chimes of Big Ben, and on the hour a toast is drunk to the New Year. Then the party goes on.

Another popular way of celebrating the New Year is to go to a New Year’s dance. Most hotels and dance halls hold a special dance on New Year’s Eve. The hall is decorated, there are several different bands and the atmosphere is very gay.

The most famous celebration is in London round the statue of Eros in Piccadilly Circus where crowds gather and sing and welcome the New Year. In Trafalgar Square there is also a big crowd and someone usually falls into the fountain.

Those who have no desire or no opportunity to celebrate the New Year themselves can sit and watch other people celebrating on television. It is an indication of the relative unimportance of the New Year in England that the television producers seem unable to find any traditional English festivities for their programmers and usually show Scottish ones.

January 1^st, New Year’s Day, is not a public holiday, unfortunately for those who like to celebrate most of the night. Some people send New Year cards and give presents but this is not a widespread custom. This is a traditional time for making “New Year resolutions”, for example, to give up smoking, or to get up earlier. However, these are generally more talked about than put into practice.

Also on New Year’s Day the “New Year Honours List” is published in the newspaper; i.e. a list of those who are to be given honours of various types – knighthoods, etc.

 

HOGMANAY CELEBRATIONS

Hogmanay is a Scottish name for New Year’s Eve, and is time for merrymaking, the giving of presents and observance of the old custom of First-Footing. One of the most interesting of Scottish Hogmanay celebrations is the Flambeaux Procession at Comrie, Perthshire. Such processions can be traced back to the time of the ancient Druids. There is procession of townsfolk in fancy dress carrying large torches. They are led by pipers. When the procession has completed its tour, the flambeaux (torches) are thrown into a pile, and everyone dances around the blaze until the torches have burned out.

 

FIRST-FOOTING 

In parts of Northern England and in Scotland the old custom of First-Footing is still observed. Tradition says that the first person to enter the house on New Year’s Day should be a dark-haired man; otherwise ill-luck will follow. It is also advisable that the person should bring with him a gift – a piece of coal, a fish, a bottle of whisky or a piece of bread is traditional gifts. Curiously enough, in a few other parts of the country, the First-Footer is required to be a fair-haired man! In the past, young men of the right colouring and with an eye to business would offer their service as First-Footer to households in the district – for a small fee.